LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: Tampa Bay Buccaneers in discussion during the NFL International Series match between Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium on October 23, 2011 in London, England. This is the fifth occasion where a regular season NFL match has been played in London. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

(photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

By Kyra Hallett

The Dallas Cowboys are 1-1 for the season after a surprising upset of the New York Giants in Week One and a disappointing loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week Two.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are similar to the Seahawks in the sense that they both like to run the ball and play a physical game, which could be bad for the Cowboys.

You are never quite sure what team you will be facing in the Cowboys. They are either a really good team or really bad, and it seems to depend mostly on what type of game Tony Romo is having.

Keys to Cowboys’ Success

The Cowboys know it will be a challenge, but they have the same plan as the Bucs — put pressure on the quarterback. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett says they need to create more turnovers, play hard and make plays.

How the Cowboys feel about the Bucs

Garrett says the Bucs have a quick, fast, explosive defense with lots of talent in the secondary. He also feels that Tampa Bay defensive back Ronde Barber has made a great transition to safety. He knows that the Bucs have an athletic defensive line, so the Cowboys must try and control the line of scrimmage.

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman is different from the quarterbacks the Cowboys have played so far. Garrett said Freeman is a big, strong quarterback. He is more of a pocket QB, but he can also make plays with his feet. Garrett also realizes that rushing in Freeman’s face does not bother him.

With the Bucs and Cowboys having faced only a handful of times in the past 10 years, the teams don’t know each other too well, and because there is a new coaching staff and style in Tampa, this makes the Bucs even more unfamiliar to the Cowboys. Garrett plans on watching Tampa Bay’s four preseason games and first two games of the regular season, but he admits his team will have to make good judgement and best guesses of how the Bucs will play.

History

Although the two teams don’t play often, the Cowboys know a few players really well. The Cowboys were interested in drafting Tampa Bay safety Mark Barron, so he worked out a few times in Dallas while he was in college at Alabama.

Another player the Cowboys know well is wide receiver Vincent Jackson. While he was with the San Diego Chargers, cornerback Brandon Carr was with the Kansas City Chiefs. The two faced each other twice a year for four years and the two were often paired up against one another. Carr had this to say about Jackson: “He’s a big, powerful receiver and he’s very physical at the line of scrimmage. I’ll have my work cut out for me.” Garrett says Jackson is a big, top player who is very athletic, quick and fast.

These two teams have met six times since 2001 with the Cowboys winning the last four match-ups to lead the series 4-2.

Bucs not only need to try and stop Tony Romo, but watch out for tight end Jason Witten too. Romo likes to throw to him when he is in trouble.

Kyra Hallett is a freelance writer and a Multimedia Sports Journalist. She has experience covering Tampa Bay sports in many outlets including Examiner.com. Her dream job would be to work with the athletes and their fans. You can view some of her work at KyraHallett.com or here at Examiner.com.